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Food / drink 🍗 The 'help me figure out what to have for dinner tonight' thread

Whose Yur Planner said:
Zatarains is ok and a decent introduction into the cuisine. it does pale to the real deal or the homemade stuff. I've had it with andouille and deer sausage. Cajun/creole/New Orleans styled cooking is pretty good in general.
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Agree.

Make it yourself starting with dried beans. Cook them with a smoked ham hock, and add andouille near the end of cooking.
 
The consensus is everyone wants pizza tonight. I thought Mexican pizza might be interesting. Thing is I don't have a proven recipe. I mean I can google a recipe, but I'm really looking for a recipe that I know will be yummy here.

Any Mexican pizza recipes anyone has actually made themselves?
 
Richmond Jake said:
My World Renowned French Onion Soup is cooking. All are welcome to join us.
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I made some of my World Renowned French Onion Soup last week (it got a Michelin 3 star rating). Last night we had some chicken noodle soup using broth I had frozen from last fall using a chicken I had smoked on our grill..
 
Pork chops cooked in Black Cherry balsamic vinegar and lime-infused olive oil, mashed potatoes, and green beans were served Saturday for the evening repast. No leftovers!

For the Big Game, we had blue cheese and pepper burgers, my Hot Pizza Dip, two types of chips, and drinkers choice of BYOB or house-made margaritas.

Tonight will be lighter fare. Fish and rice, most likely, with a veggie.
 
I think we're going to have breaded pork chops tonight and probably some kind of potatoes (mashed?) to go with them.
 
I'm baking a homemade pizza tonight. OK, I'm using a Publix rolled crust, canned sauce, I didn't make the sausage, cheese, or pepperoni, and didn't grow the bell pepper or onion. Close as I can get. :wine: :flamingo:
 
I suggest everyone buy an Instant Pot and make pulled pork. For dinner. Tonight. Seriously. You can thank me later. Do it now. Go to Amazon and spend the $100. Totally worth it.
 
Hink said:
I suggest everyone buy an Instant Pot and make pulled pork. For dinner. Tonight. Seriously. You can thank me later. Do it now. Go to Amazon and spend the $100. Totally worth it.
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Do you have a recipe that you can recommend?
 
Big Owl said:
Do you have a recipe that you can recommend?
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Get a pork shoulder or pork butt, maybe 3-5 lbs.
Cut into smaller pieces - like 1 lb each.
Rub it with whatever your rub is of choice.
I like:
1/2 cup smoked paprika
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup garlic powder
2 tablespoons black pepper
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon cumin
You can sear it if you want, but I just put it in the machine.
Add 1 cup of BBQ sauce and 2 cups of chicken broth.
Cook for 1 hr 40 minutes on pressure cooking high setting.

Open and shred. And be happy.
 
Salmissra said:
Pork chops cooked in Black Cherry balsamic vinegar and lime-infused olive oil, mashed potatoes, and green beans were served Saturday for the evening repast. No leftovers!

For the Big Game, we had blue cheese and pepper burgers, my Hot Pizza Dip, two types of chips, and drinkers choice of BYOB or house-made margaritas.

Tonight will be lighter fare. Fish and rice, most likely, with a veggie.
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(Sure this was from a few weeks ago but...)
Black Cherry Balsamic Vinegar??!!! Whaaa?? That sounds amazing! Did you buy or make it? I plan to purchase some cherries this weekend to infuse some vinegar myself. :up::up:
 
I'm still on the food box kick, although I'm beginning to rethink using Plated. I like the dishes but they seem to have very small portion sizes and there just isn't enough spices in the food. I might switch it up to Sunbasket in the next few weeks. HelloFresh and Blue Apron just look boring to me.

BUT, it has made picking a dinner much easier. That alone is worth the price of admission.
 
Richmond Jake said:
Leftover pizza from Thursday night.
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Ouch. I never had much luck with leftover pizza. Frozen, no problem. However, reheated leftover pizza always turned out soggy and rubbery whenever I've tried it.

Anyhow, tonight we loaded up on the hot bar at Wegmans. We're both feeling lazy.
 
Dan said:
Ouch. I never had much luck with leftover pizza. Frozen, no problem. However, reheated leftover pizza always turned out soggy and rubbery whenever I've tried it.

Anyhow, tonight we loaded up on the hot bar at Wegmans. We're both feeling lazy.
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If you're not heating leftover pizza in the oven, it's better eaten cold. I heat a cast iron skillet in the oven, and heat pizza on it.
 
Dan said:
Ouch. I never had much luck with leftover pizza. Frozen, no problem. However, reheated leftover pizza always turned out soggy and rubbery whenever I've tried it.

Anyhow, tonight we loaded up on the hot bar at Wegmans. We're both feeling lazy.
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1) Reheat in the oven on a pizza stone or cast iron. It's always better the second day.
2) Did I mention that I miss Wegmans? I could live in their hot food section.
 
I think you can skip the oven and reheat in the cast iron pan. Heat the pizza up for a few minutes on medium low, then add two drops of water to the pan, put on low heat, and cover. This will crisp up the crust, and keep the top of the pizza just moist enough and won't dry it out like the oven will.

Tonight I am having whole wheat calzones with homemade marinara.
 
AG74683 said:
I think you can skip the oven and reheat in the cast iron pan. Heat the pizza up for a few minutes on medium low, then add two drops of water to the pan, put on low heat, and cover. This will crisp up the crust, and keep the top of the pizza just moist enough and won't dry it out like the oven will.

Tonight I am having whole wheat calzones with homemade marinara.
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I've got so much to learn about cast iron. Yes, this sounds perfect and much faster!
 
AG74683 said:
I think you can skip the oven and reheat in the cast iron pan. Heat the pizza up for a few minutes on medium low, then add two drops of water to the pan, put on low heat, and cover. This will crisp up the crust, and keep the top of the pizza just moist enough and won't dry it out like the oven will.

Tonight I am having whole wheat calzones with homemade marinara.
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I have better luck using the oven. The stove seems to unevenly heat/burn the crust.
 
Challenge for Friday:
I kinda already know what we’re having for dinner tonight – leftover chicken pot pie, because we had half of it last evening. The problem was that half a pot pie split three ways (1/6th pie) left all of us feeling hungry after dinner.

Since pot pie is essentially a one course meal unto itself, what could we serve to go with it?

24263
 
Maister said:
Challenge for Friday:
I kinda already know what we’re having for dinner tonight – leftover chicken pot pie, because we had half of it last evening. The problem was that half a pot pie split three ways (1/6th pie) left all of us feeling hungry after dinner.

Since pot pie is essentially a one course meal unto itself, what could we serve to go with it?

View attachment 24263
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I would add a salad -- probably a green leafy one with fresh veggie toppings. It would balance out your cooked veggies, gravy, and breading in the pot pie.
 
RandomPlanner said:
I would add a salad -- probably a green leafy one with fresh veggie toppings. It would balance out your cooked veggies, gravy, and breading in the pot pie.
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That's not a bad idea. Thanks! And here I was toying around trying to reconcile how I could tie in chocolate sundaes or baby back ribs in a thematically appropriate way
 
Hink said:
I suggest everyone buy an Instant Pot and make pulled pork. For dinner. Tonight. Seriously. You can thank me later. Do it now. Go to Amazon and spend the $100. Totally worth it.
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We do a cuban pork in the Instant Pot. It is AWESOME. In fact, there is some currently marinating in the fridge. Then I'll whip up some arepas with which to serve it. Add a little cheese, beans, and avocado and you have DELICIOUSLY AWESOME PORK PRODUCT!!
 
I made a ham tetrazzini dish last night that was universally reviled (including by me). I need to dig my way out of this pit. What do I make tonight for dinner?
 
I wish my wife liked pork, because insta pot pork sounds awesome.

For Maister, since the wife is sick go with some chicken noodle soup.
 
Maister said:
I made a ham tetrazzini dish last night that was universally reviled (including by me). I need to dig my way out of this pit. What do I make tonight for dinner?
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Spaghetti

Sloppy Joes

McDonalds (no, don't do that)
 
Maister said:
I made a ham tetrazzini dish last night that was universally reviled (including by me). I need to dig my way out of this pit. What do I make tonight for dinner?
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What do you have on hand?
 
Maister said:
I made a ham tetrazzini dish last night that was universally reviled (including by me). I need to dig my way out of this pit. What do I make tonight for dinner?
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I’m not sure you can dig your way out of this. Order takeout from her favorite restaurant.
 
Maister said:
Sausage. Lots of different types.
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Sausage Rolls
1-1.5 lbs of sausage sliced up into 1" pieces (generally we use italian sausage)
1 bell pepper sliced into thin strips
1/2 onion sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt & pepper
oil
4 sandwich rolls
Shredded cheese

Heat oil over medium-high in a large skillet. Sautee sliced peppers and onions and garlic until they soften and start to just brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Fry sausage slices until almost cooked all the way through. Add the peppers and onions and garlic back to the pan along with any liquid that accumulated while it was sitting, add the oregano, and salt & pepper to taste. You can add a couple tablespoons of water to make it more juicy and get up the fried bits from the pan. Slice rolls lengthwise 90% through, stuff with sausage mix, top with shredded cheese.
 
kjel said:
Sausage Rolls
1-1.5 lbs of sausage sliced up into 1" pieces (generally we use italian sausage)
1 bell pepper sliced into thin strips
1/2 onion sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt & pepper
oil
4 sandwich rolls
Shredded cheese

Heat oil over medium-high in a large skillet. Sautee sliced peppers and onions and garlic until they soften and start to just brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Fry sausage slices until almost cooked all the way through. Add the peppers and onions and garlic back to the pan along with any liquid that accumulated while it was sitting, add the oregano, and salt & pepper to taste. You can add a couple tablespoons of water to make it more juicy and get up the fried bits from the pan. Slice rolls lengthwise 90% through, stuff with sausage mix, top with shredded cheese.
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Wow, I think I have all these ingredients except the rolls. I'm going to do this. Thanks.
 
Our 20 year old is coming home today for spring break so I've been given a list of food for the weekend: tacos, pizza, and steak being on the top.

NOT on the list is my last bag of homemade pierogies, which I forgot to hide in the back of the freezer so he wouldn't see them. I'll be honest -- it could be a solid 2-3 meals without him or a partial meal with him. I just don't want to share!
 
RandomPlanner said:
Our 20 year old is coming home today for spring break so I've been given a list of food for the weekend: tacos, pizza, and steak being on the top.

NOT on the list is my last bag of homemade pierogies, which I forgot to hide in the back of the freezer so he wouldn't see them. I'll be honest -- it could be a solid 2-3 meals without him or a partial meal with him. I just don't want to share!
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Our 14 y.o. puts away an insane amount of food. Like more than mom and dad combined sometimes.
 
I grilled a 4 lb pork loin Sunday and we ate half of it. Junior said he doesn't want the same thing for leftovers tonight, so I have to come up with some way to repurpose 2 lbs of grilled pork loin (that had a maple flavored dry rub applied).

1621273371912.png


I'm open to any ideas.
 
Maister said:
I grilled a 4 lb pork loin Sunday and we ate half of it. Junior said he doesn't want the same thing for leftovers tonight, so I have to come up with some way to repurpose 2 lbs of grilled pork loin (that had a maple flavored dry rub applied).

View attachment 51512

I'm open to any ideas.
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Put it on some bread and tell Junior he'll eat what you give him and be happy about it.
 
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